Stevens holds annual Scholarship Luncheon

HOBOKEN, N.J. - On Saturday, March 27, Stevens Institute of Technology held its annual reception for student scholarship recipients, their parents and scholarship donors. With 125 in attendance, this year’s guests also included Legacy Society members – alumni and friends who have included Stevens in their estate plans or have made other planned giving arrangements that benefit the university.

Each year, the luncheon recognizes scholarships created by individual donors (alumni and/or friends of the university) as well as groups of donors including class scholarship funds. Thirty-nine alumni classes, about one-third of all graduates, have endowed scholarship funds and several more have term scholarships.

Stevens recognizes the difficulties families face in meeting college expenses and is committed to making sure that a Stevens education is affordable to each admitted student. Scholarship dollars contributed annually by alumni and friends of Stevens help to ensure that the university is able to fulfill that commitment and recruit and retain the best and brightest students from around the country.

Provost and University Vice President George Korfiatis provided opening remarks at the event, recognizing and honoring those donors who provide a portion of the much needed scholarship aid to the students. He noted that 93 percent of students benefit from more than $30 million awarded through financial aid.

Korfiatis also took a moment to individually recognize the various constituencies in the room, asking each to stand up in turn to be recognized.

In addition, Korfiatis mentioned two previous scholars who have gone on to successful endeavors. Michael Bertucci ’09, Class of 1939 Endowed Scholarship Recipient, was valedictorian of his class and is pursuing a doctoral degree in Chemistry at UNC Chapel Hill. Sara James ’09, Class of 1958 Scholarship Recipient, is working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and is studying for her master’s degree in Electrical Engineering.

Anthony Mancini, a senior, Civil Engineering major and 2009-2010 scholarship recipient, addressed attendees and spoke about his Stevens experience and the benefit he receives from scholarship aid.

“Scholarships made my decision to attend Stevens possible, and has been a great help to my family,” said Mancini.

Mancini initially has his sights set on the Naval Academy, and he came close to realizing his dream. Although he received a much sought after recommendation from Governor Corzine and got through the admissions process, he failed the vision test due to a color vision deficiency.

Mancini knew finding a slot at a top school would be difficult at this late stage. His mother, a Hoboken native, encouraged him to apply to Stevens. In addition to Stevens, Mancini was accepted to Drexel and NJIT. After visiting campus, he fell in love with the location and all that Stevens had to offer. His qualifications earned him the prestigious Edwin A. Stevens Merit Scholarship, which made his decision to come to Stevens an easy one.

Mancini was a member of the wrestling team, but his career was cut short when he sustained a serious injury to his elbow in his first season. Soon thereafter, Mancini became involved with other campus activities and organizations, including Stevens’ Habitat for Humanity chapter. He participated in two alternate spring break trips to South Dakota and Florida, and most recently led Team Stevens on a week-long build in Arizona.

“My involvement with Habitat has been rewarding and serving as team leader for the Phoenix build has been a good leadership experience,” said Mancini.

Before leaving Arizona, Mancini and 19 other students attended an alumni meet and greet.

“Meeting the alumni was very inspiring for us. Learning about their careers reminded us that our degree will prepare us for anything we choose to do,” he said.

Mancini shared that Stevens was a good match for him, with its strong academic program and vibrant, active campus community.

“Stevens pushes you farther than you think you can go. It provided me the opportunities to grow into the person I didn’t know I was capable of becoming,” said Mancini.

Donor Nicholas Mestanas ’58 spoke about the importance of scholarships to Stevens and its students.

“We on the committee clearly see that Stevens has a critical need to grow its scholarship endowment funds,” said Mestanas. “We shall continue as in the past, to communicate that donations to our class scholarship endowment fund and to the Stevens fund are vitally important. Hopefully, we will develop new ideas that help scholarship funds to grow in the future and we encourage you to do so as well.”

Maureen Weatherall, Vice President for University Enrollment and Administration, made closing remarks following the musical performances. She shared her pride as fellow alumna and took the opportunity to highlight the success of the students, including both the talented musicians and the outstanding achievements of the scholarship recipients in her remarks.

She also reiterated the importance of scholarships and the high percentage of students who benefit from the generosity of those in the room.

About Stevens’ Legacy Society

When Edwin A. Stevens died in 1868, his will provided for the establishment of the institute which bears his family name. Through a generous contribution of land and funds for building and endowment, Edwin A. Stevens and his family began a tradition of philanthropy at Stevens.

The Legacy Society was created in 1994 to recognize and thank donors who have made provisions in their estate plans or have made other planned giving arrangements for Stevens. The name Legacy Society acknowledges that the benefits of such gifts create a perpetual legacy for the university, further building on the tradition set forth by the Stevens family.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University TM , lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research. The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management.

Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts. Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research. The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world. Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/press.

An inclusive college campus just minutes from New York City with an incredible view and exceptional access to opportunity